Sending Email Content via Adobe Campaign

After you configure AEM and Adobe Campaign, you can create email delivery content directly in AEM and then process it in Adobe Campaign.

When you create Adobe Campaign content in AEM, you must link to an Adobe Campaign service before editing the content to access all the functionality.

There are two possible cases:

Content can be synched with a delivery from Adobe Campaign. This allows you to use AEM content in a delivery.

(Adobe Campaign on premise only) The content can be sent directly to Adobe Campaign, which automatically generates a new email delivery. This mode has limitations.

Detailed instructions are described in this document.

Creating new email content

You can create new email content in AEM either in the touch-optimized user interface or the classic user interface. This section covers both.

Bemærk:

When adding email templates, be sure to add them under /content/campaigns to make them available.

Creating new email content in the touch-optimized user interface

To create new email content in the touch-optimized UI:

In AEM in the touch-optimized user interface, select Sites then Campaigns, then browse to where your email campaigns are managed. In the following example, the path is Sites > Campaigns > Geometrixx Outdoors > Email Campaigns.

Select Create then Create Page.

Select one of the available templates specific to which Adobe Campaign you are connecting to, then click Next. Three templates are available by default:

Adobe Campaign Email (ACS): lets you add content to a predefined template (two columns) before sending it to Adobe Campaign Standard for delivery.

Fill in the Title and optionally the Description and click Create. The title is used as the subject of the newsletter/email unless you overwrite it while editing the email.

Creating email content in the classic user interface

To create email content in the classic UI:

In AEM, go into Classic UI mode, select the Websites folder then browse your explorer to find where your email campaigns are managed. In the following example, the node concerned is Websites > Campaigns > Geometrixx Outdoors > Email Campaigns.

Select New > New Page to create new email content.

Select one of the available templates specific to Adobe Campaign, then fill the general properties of the page. Three templates are available by default:

Adobe Campaign Email (AC 6.1): lets you add content to a predefined template before sending it to Adobe Campaign 6.1 for delivery.

Adobe Campaign Email (ACS): lets you add content to a predefined template before sending it to Adobe Campaign Standard for delivery.

Click Create to create your email or newsletter.

Selecting the Adobe Campaign cloud service and template

To integrate with Adobe Campaign, you need to add an Adobe Campaign cloud service to the page. Doing so provides you with access to personalization and other Adobe Campaign information.

In addition you may also need to select the Adobe Campaign template and change the subject and add plain text content for those users who will not view the email in HTML.

Selecting the Adobe Campaign Cloud Service and Template in the Touch-optimized User Interface

You can select the cloud service either from the Sites tab or from within the email/newsletter after you have created it.

Selecting the cloud service from the Sites tab is the recommended approach. Selecting the cloud service from the email/newsletter requires a workaround.

From the Sites page:

In the touch-optimized UI, select the email page and click View Properties.

Select Edit and then the Cloud services tab and scroll down to the bottom and click the + sign to add a configuration and then select Adobe Campaign.

Select the configuration that matches your Adobe Campaign instance from the drop-down list, then confirm by clicking Save.

You can view the template that the email has applied to it by clicking the Adobe Campaign tab. If you would like to select another template, you can access that from within the email while editing.

If you would like to apply a specific email delivery template (from Adobe Campaign), other than the default mail template, in Properties, select the Adobe Campaign tab. Enter the email delivery template's internal name in the related Adobe Campaign instance.

Which template you select determines which personalization fields are available from Adobe Campaign.

From within the newsletter/email in authoring, you might not be able to select the Adobe Campaign cloud service configuration in PageProperties due to a layout issue. You can use the workaround described here:

In the touch-optimized UI, select the email page and click Edit. Click Open Properties.

Select Cloud services and click + to add a configuration. Select any visible configuration (does not matter which one). Click or tap the + sign to add another configuration and then select Adobe Campaign.

Bemærk:

Alternatively, you can select the cloud services by selecting View Properties in the Sites tab.

Select the configuration that matches your Adobe Campaign instance from the drop-down list, delete the first configuration you created that was not for Adobe Campaign, then confirm by clicking the check mark.

Continue with step 4 in the previous procedure to select templates and add plain text.

Selecting the Adobe Campaign Cloud Service and Template in the Classic User Interface

From the content editing page:

Select the Page tab in the sidekick, then select Page properties.

In the Cloud services tab in the pop-up window, select Add Service to add the Adobe Campaign service and click OK.

Select the configuration that matches your Adobe Campaign instance from the drop-down list, then click OK.

Bemærk:

Be sure to tap/click OK or Apply after adding the cloud service. This enables the Adobe Campaign tab to work properly.

If you would like to apply a specific email delivery template (from Adobe Campaign), other than the default mail template, select Page properties again. In the Adobe Campaign tab, enter the email delivery template's internal name in the related Adobe Campaign instance.

In Adobe Campaign Standard, the template is Delivery with AEM Content. In Adobe Campaign 6.1, the template is Email delivery with AEM content.

When you select the template, AEM automatically enables the Adobe Campaign Newsletter components.

Editing email content

You can edit email content in either the classic user interface or the touch-optimized user interface.

Editing Email Content in the Touch-Optimized User Interface

To edit email content:

Open the email and by default you enter Edit mode.

If you would like to change the subject of the email or add plain text for those users who will not view the email in HTML, select Email and add a subject and text. Select the page icon to auto-generate a plain text version from HTML. Clickthecheck mark when finished.

You can personalize the newsletter by using Adobe Campaign personalization fields. To add a personalization field, open the personalization field picker by clicking on the button displaying the Adobe Campaign logo. You can then choose from all the fields that are available for this newsletter.

Bemærk:

If the personalization fields in properties from within the editor are greyed out, please re-examine your configuration.

Open the components panel on left side of screen and select Adobe CampaignNewsletter from the drop-down menu to find those components.

Drag components directly onto the page and edit them accordingly. For example, you can drag a Text & Personalization (Campaign) component and add personalized text.

Inserting personalization

In both the classic and touch-optimized user interface, when editing your content, you can insert:

Adobe Campaign context fields. These are are fields that you can insert within your text that will adapt according to the recipient’s data (for example first name, last name, or any data of the target dimension).

Adobe Campaign personalization blocks. These are blocks of predefined content that are not related to the recipient’s data, such as a brand logo, or link to a mirror page.

Select Client Context in the sidekick to test the personalization fields using the data in the persona profiles.

A window appears and lets you select the persona you like. The personalization fields are automatically replaced by data from the selected profile.

Previewing a newsletter

You can preview what the newsletter will look like from either the touch-optimized or classic user interface. In addition, you preview the personalization.

Previewing a newsletter in the touch-optimized user interface

To preview a newsletter in the touch-optimized UI:

With the newsletter open, click Preview in the upper right corner of AEM. AEM displays how the newsletter looks when users receive it.

Bemærk:

If you are using Adobe Campaign Standard and using the sample template, two personalization blocks that display initial content - "<%@ include view="MirrorPage" %>" and "<%@ include view="UnsubscriptionLink" %>" - will throw errors when importing the content during delivery. You can adjust these by selecting the corresponding blocks using the personalization block picker.

To preview the personalization, open ContextHub by clicking/tapping the corresponding icon in the toolbar. The personalization field tags are now replaced by the seed data of the selected persona. See how the variables adapt when switching personas in ContextHub.

You can view the seed data coming from Adobe Campaign that is associated with the currently selected persona. To do this, click/tap the Adobe Campaign module in the ContextHub bar. This opens a dialog box displaying all seed data of the current profile. Again, the data adapts when switching to a different persona.

Previewing the newsletter in the classic user interface

To preview the newsletter in the classic UI:

Open the newsletter you want to preview and click Preview (magnifying glass) to shrink the sidekick.

Click one of the email client icons to see what your newsletter looks like in each email client.

Expand the sidekick to begin editing again.

Approving content in AEM

After the content is finished, you can start the approval process. Go to the Workflow tab of the toolbox and select the Approve for Adobe Campaign workflow.

This out-of-the-box workflow has two steps: revision then approval, or revision then rejection. Nevertheless, this workflow can be extended and adapted to a more complex process.

To approve content for Adobe Campaign, apply the workflow by selecting Workflow in the sidekick and selecting Approve for Adobe Campaign and click Start Workflow. Go through the steps and approve the content. You can also reject the contents by selecting Reject instead of Approve in the last workflow step.

After content is approved, it appears as approved in Adobe Campaign. The email can then be sent.

In Adobe Campaign Standard:

In Adobe Campaign 6.1:

Bemærk:

Unapproved content can be synched with a delivery in Adobe Campaign but the delivery cannot be executed. Only approved content can be sent via Campaign deliveries.

Linking AEM with Adobe Campaign Standard and Adobe Campaign 6.1

How you link or synchronize AEM with Adobe Campaign depends on whether you are using subscription-based Adobe Campaign Standard or on-premise-based Adobe Campaign 6.1.

See the following sections for instructions based on your Adobe Campaign solution:

Select Link with an Adobe Experience Manager content in the toolbar to access the list of contents available in AEM.

Bemærk:

If the Link with an Adobe Experience Manager option does not appear in the action bar, check that the Content editing mode is correctly configured set to Adobe Experience Manager in the email properties.

Select the content you would like to use in your email.

This list specifies:

The label of the content in AEM.

The approval status of the content in AEM. If the content is not approved, you can synchronize the content but it will have to be approved before the delivery is sent. However, you can execute certain operations such as sending a proof or the preview test.

The date of the content last modification.

Any content already linked to a delivery.

Bemærk:

By default, the content that is already synchronized with a delivery is hidden. However, you can display it and use it. For example, if you want to use content as a template for several deliveries.

When the email is linked to an AEM content, the content cannot be edited in Adobe Campaign.

Specify the other parameters of your email from its dashboard (audiences, execution schedule).

Execute the email delivery. During the delivery analysis, the most up-to-date version of the AEM content is retrieved.

Bemærk:

If the content is updated in AEM while it is linked to an email, it is automatically updated in Adobe Campaign during the analysis. The synchronization can also be executed manually using Refresh Adobe Experience Manager content from the content action bar.

You can cancel the link between an email and AEM content using Delete the link with the Adobe Experience Manager content from the content action bar. This button is only available if a content is already linked with the delivery. To link a different content with a delivery, you must delete the current content link before being able to establish a new link.

When the link is deleted, the local content is kept and becomes editable in Adobe Campaign. If you link again the content after having modified it, all changes will be lost.

Synchronizing content created in AEM with a delivery from Adobe Campaign 6.1

Adobe Campaign allows you to recover and synchronize content created in AEM with:

A campaign delivery

A delivery activity in a campaign workflow

A recurring delivery

A continuous delivery

A Message Center delivery

A delivery template

In AEM, if a newsletter is linked to a single delivery, the delivery code displays on the page.

Bemærk:

If the newsletter is linked to several deliveries, the number of linked deliveries (but not every ID is displayed).

Bemærk:

The Workflow step Publish to Adobe Campaign is deprecated in AEM 6.1. This step was a part of the AEM 6.0 integration with Adobe Campaign and is no longer necessary.

To synchronize content created in AEM with a delivery from Adobe Campaign:

Create a delivery or add a delivery activity to a campaign workflow by selecting the Email delivery with AEM content (mailAEMContent) delivery template.

Select Synchronize in the toolbar to access the list of contents available in AEM.

Bemærk:

If the Synchronize option does not appear in the delivery's toolbar, check that the Content editing mode field is correctly configured in AEM by selecting Properties > Advanced.

Select the content you would like to synchronize with your delivery.

This list specifies:

The label of the content in AEM.

The approval status of the content in AEM. If the content is not approved, you can synchronize the content but it will have to be approved before the delivery is sent. However, you can execute certain operations such as sending a BAT or the preview test.

The date of the last modification to the content.

Any content already linked to a delivery.

Bemærk:

By default, the content that is already synchronized with a delivery is hidden. However, you can display it and use it. For example, if you want to use content as a template for several deliveries.

Specify the other parameters of your delivery (target, etc.)

If necessary, start the delivery approval process in Adobe Campaign. Content approval in AEM is necessary in addition to approvals configured in Adobe Campaign (budget, target, etc.). Content approval in Adobe Campaign is only possible if the content is already approved in AEM.

Execute the delivery. During the delivery analysis, the most up-to-date version of the AEM content is recovered.

Bemærk:

After the delivery and content are synchronized, the delivery content in Adobe Campaign becomes read only. The email subject as well as its content can no longer be modified.

If the content is updated in AEM while it is linked to a delivery in Adobe Campaign, it is automatically updated in the delivery during the delivery analysis. The synchronization can also be executed manually using the Refresh content now button.

You can cancel synchronization between a delivery and AEM content using the Desynchronize button. This is only available if a content is already synchronized with the delivery. To synchronize a different content with a delivery, you must cancel the current content synchronization before being able to establish a new link.

If desynchronized the local content is kept and becomes editable in Adobe Campaign. If you resynchronize the content after having modified it, you will lose all your changes.

For recurring and continuous deliveries, synchronization with AEM content is stopped every time the delivery is executed.